Panic Buying Spreads Through Perception, Not Actual Supply Shortages

Panic buying doesn't just respond to shortages - it creates them. And according to a University of nan Sunshine Coast behavioral scientist, nan lessons learned during COVID-19 stay captious for preventing early buying frenzies. 

Dr Karina Rune, a interrogator successful wellness and behavioral sciences at UniSC, says panic buying is driven little by who group are and much by really consequence and societal behaviour are communicated during times of uncertainty. 

"We saw this intelligibly during COVID," said Dr Rune, whose collaborative investigation was published successful a insubstantial successful Behavioral Sciences, Reducing Panic Buying During Crisis Lockdowns: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Theory-Based Online Intervention'

"People weren't panic buying because they were anxious personalities aliases mediocre planners," she said. "They were responding to nan belief that stockpiling was sensible, necessary, aliases thing everyone other was doing." 

During Australia's COVID-19 lockdowns, supermarket shelves were stripped bare of toilet paper, cleaning products and long-life food arsenic consumers rushed to banal up.

Similar behaviour continues to re-emerge during substance shortages, utmost weather events and different disruptions, despite repeated assurances that proviso chains are stable. 

The research led by Dr Rune and colleagues published successful December 2025 found that group were much apt to bargain other erstwhile they believed location was a consequence successful not stockpiling, aliases erstwhile they perceived societal support for doing so. 

"When group think, 'If I don't bargain now, I'll miss out,' aliases 'Everyone other is doing it,' panic buying becomes a logical consequence to uncertainty," Dr Rune said.

"The problem is, erstwhile tons of group do this astatine once, it creates nan very shortages they're trying to avoid." 

Importantly, nan investigation besides showed what does not thrust panic buying. Demographic factors specified arsenic age, gender, income and family size were not reliable predictors, nor were characteristic traits for illustration intolerance of uncertainty or previous hoarding behaviour. 

"This tells america panic buying is simply a corporate behaviour problem, not an individual failing," Dr Rune said. 

Building connected these insights, Dr Rune's squad tested whether panic buying could beryllium reduced by changing nan measurement messages are framed.

In a randomized controlled trial, Australian shoppers were shown brief, evidence-based messages designed to situation beliefs astir risk, societal norms and nan perceived 'smartness' of stockpiling. 

The consequence was a important simplification successful people's willingness and volition to panic buy, peculiarly for hygiene products and nonperishable food.

"The takeaway from COVID is that telling group 'don't panic' doesn't work," Dr Rune said.

"What does activity is explaining really panic buying harms everyone, reinforcing that astir group are buying normally, and addressing consequence perceptions earlier shelves commencement to empty." 

As Australia continues to look climate-driven disasters and proviso disruptions, Dr Rune says applying these behavioral lessons early could thief forestall panic buying earlier it takes hold. 

"COVID showed america panic buying is predictable, which intends it's preventable," she said. 

Source:

Journal reference:

Rune, K. T., et al. (2025). Reducing Panic Buying During Crisis Lockdowns: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Theory-Based Online Intervention. Behavioral Sciences. DOI: 10.3390/bs16010042. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/16/1/42